Warm greetings to you and your family from New Haven, CT! I hope you have enjoyed the beginning of a meaningful Pesach, and are feeling freer and freer with every crunch of matzah. I look forward to seeing many of you at services and at the Bat Mitzvah next Shabbat! In the meantime, here are some reflections on this week’s Torah portion, which is special for the Shabbat coinciding with the 8th and final day of Passover.

We read from the end of Parshat Re’eh this Shabbat, (Deut. 14:22 – 16:17) which unsurprisingly includes laws for Pesach and the other pilgrimage holidays (Shavuot and Sukkot). Yet more surprisingly perhaps, the portion delves into the topic of forgiving debts and releasing slaves. ...

So, when I heard the rabbis voice chanting my Torah portion with the trope, it was so beautiful and melodic and I was thinking, oh wow, this is going to be awesome and profound and special! And then I read my Torah portion was all about animal blood, animal fat and expulsion… Eeeeeww, really?

Wow. How am I going to bring this home and into my heart? By admitting the importance of Tradition. The transmission of customs or beliefs from generation to generation. Cultural continuity. ...

Shabbat shalom. Thank you all for honoring us with your presence on this Shabbat morning as Alexa, Steve, and I stand before you after many fruitful months of study with our fearless teacher Rabbi Bair and his faithful deputy, Marilyn Roberts.

The Torah portion that we chanted from this morning is Parashat Tzav, which deals primarily with different aspects of ritual sacrifice. In a Torah portion such as this one, it’s very easy to get lost in the details, because, if you read the whole Torah portion, you can see that there really are a lot of details. ...

If I were still 13, I would both thank my parents and blame them for the stage fright I felt at 13 years of age. At my first Bar Mitzvah 60 years ago, I was motivated by parental insistence and images of my grandparents weeping in the background.’ – I was NOT motivated by spirituality. This time around, I can proudly say I have studied this Bar Mitzvah without promise of immunity or financial reward and did/do so freely without hesitation so help me God. ...

If you would like to host a future Oneg Shabbat to celebrate a special event in your life with the community, please call the Temple office at 747-5508 or sign up online here.

More Temple Sinai News

Men's Breakfast: April 8, 2018

No not brisket! But the dire BREXIT predictions of a 10% drop in the UK pound; the exodus of London's financial sector; economic recession; sharp drops in equity and housing markets (in the UK); a resurgence of conflict between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland; cessation of free trade with the EU; blockage of EU residents access to employment in the UK; and that Populism and Nationalism would shatter Democracy. But none of this has happened as yet. In fact, when will the BREXIT pullout actually happen? Dr. Dennis Dworkin, Chair of the History Department, UNR will help us sort this out as our Breakfast speaker.

Temple Sinai Holocaust Remembrance Day will be April 12, 6:30 p.m. featuring an exhibit from the Mi Polin Museum of History of Polish Jews, Mezuzahs from this Home. The Men's Club has sponsored the guest speaker, Joanne Gilbert, from Las Vegas for this Yom Hashoah program at Temple Sinai.

With the month of April and the start of Spring comes many events for Temple Sinai. I wanted to remind everyone that the Spring Simcha fundraiser for youth programs is right around the corner. It is fast approaching, on Saturday April 21st from 5-9 p.m. at The Grove in South Reno. We are far from reaching our ticket sale goal, so please if you plan to join us for a fun evening of dinner, dancing, raffle and auction, get out there and buy your tickets now HERE and on our Home Page ( just click the Spring Simcha display ad).

This year, the whole family is invited, so bring the kids, or the neighbors, or the neighbors college kids, or anyone you can think of that will want in on on some Super Hero fun!

On another note, keep your eye out for information and a sign up link for the Annual Sinai family retreat in August a The Grizzly Creek Ranch in Portola, CA. We will hopefully have the sign up link out as early as possible to give families plenty of time to plan and save for the weekend of family bonding and fun!

Tradition teaches that between Passover and Shavuot it is an excellent time to re-study Pirkei Avot, "Ethical Chapters of our Ancestors." The weekly Talmud study group (Wednesday's at noon) will learn it together this year. Please purchase this edition to participate.

Pirke Avot: A Modern Commentary on Jewish Ethics (English, Hebrew and Hebrew Edition)

Nevada Museum of Art Commemorates State Of Israel’s 70th Anniversary with an Exhibition by Two Israeli Artists, and a Shabbat Dinner

Works by Israeli women artists Michal Rovner and Tal Shochat will be on view April 12 – October 14, 2018, at the Nevada Museum of Art in Reno. A Shabbat Dinner, featuring the Director Emeritus of the Israel Museum in Jerusalem on April 13, will be complemented by additional community events. ...

We are excited to be the first site outside of NYC to offer this new class based on the award-winning Music Together curriculum. The weekly parent-child music class combines everything you love about Music Together with a carefully selected collection of familiar (and not-so familiar) Jewish songs from around the world. Music Together Sing Shalom classes introduce Jewish themes and holidays through song, and support parents and caregivers in introducing their children to a diverse, culturally rich Jewish heritage. Sing Shalom is open to current families as well as families in the larger Northern Nevada community. Bring your whole family along and make music together with us!

Thank you to Suzy Klass and the Passover Seder Planning Committee: Ben Karl, Suzanne Silverman, Marty Matles, Jessica Younger, Jane Townley and Amanda Buckner for planning a wonderful and highly enjoyable Seder this year at the Atlantis!

Thank you to Atty Garfinkle and Hillel of Northern Nevada students who made brunch as the shulchan orech (meal) for the Passover Family Seder at Sinai School on Sunday. The matzah brie was amazing, and it was great to celebrate together!

Sisterhood Tributes

The Sisterhood can send greeting & sympathy cards for you. To order tribute cards, call Pam Sloan at 771-1971 or email her at: sisterhood@sinaireno.org